Kakashi's astonishing transformation was like a shot of adrenaline, completely igniting the fighting spirit of Konoha's top Jonin. The atmosphere at the Hokage Tower's mission posting area became more heated than ever, especially around the mission scrolls marked S-rank. Almost the moment they were hung up, several burning gazes would compete for them.
Internal competition was unavoidable. For the sake of fairness, and to test their respective strength, small-scale internal matches quietly unfolded across the training grounds. There was no smoke of war, yet they were more intense than real missions.
The first to stand out was Might Guy. His target was clear—a mission to eliminate a rogue ninja group entrenched along the border between the Land of Iron and the Land of Fire, whose members possessed the Lava Release Kekkei Genkai. The mission was extremely difficult, and the rogue ninja leader was close to Kage Level.
To secure that mission, Kai held a quick match against Asuma, who had also set his sights on it. When Kai roared and opened the Seventh Gate, the Gate of Wonder, blue steam erupting around him as immense chakra and natural energy merged into a suffocating pressure, Asuma wisely chose to withdraw. He knew that in that state, Kai's Daytime Tiger could decide the outcome in an instant.
With indisputable strength, Kai claimed the mission. A week later, he returned in triumph with the rogue ninja leader's head and a complete mission report. The report showed that he had maintained the Seventh Gate throughout the mission, crushing his opponents with absolute speed and strength, never even giving them the chance to unleash any large-scale Lava Release ninjutsu.
Neji personally implanted him with a custom-made Sage Crystal Filter geared toward taijutsu and vitality enhancement. The instant it fused, Kai felt as though his body